


white teeth teens are out

by imsodumbmister



Series: Bandom One-Shots [1]
Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, First Love, Heartbreak, Heavy Angst, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Past Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Post-Summer of Like, Sad, Summer of Like, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25776874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imsodumbmister/pseuds/imsodumbmister
Summary: we wouldn't be seen dead here in the dayi guess you're lucky that it's dark now
Relationships: Mikey Way/Pete Wentz
Series: Bandom One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194791
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	white teeth teens are out

Mikey fell to his knees and sobbed until there was nothing wet left in him. Pete. Pete. Pete. The name echoed in his brain until it was all he knew, twisted itself on his tongue until it was the only word he could pronounce. In the background, he could hear Gerard trying to comfort him, feel his older sibling’s hand on his shoulder. But nothing could relieve the pain that Mikey was feeling right now. He finally knew what it was to be in love.

Mikey Way was twenty-four years old, he played bass for his sibling’s band, My Chemical Romance, and he had never fallen in love. He didn't know or care why, and he wasn't sure if he ever would. Subconsciously, he assumed that if he ever did fall in love, it would be a girl, and she'd be stable and reliable and never ever leave. And she definitely wouldn't leave a deep hole in his heart that could never truly heal, no matter how much he longed to be whole again. Mikey was in for a big surprise.

"Hey, Gee, what bands are we touring with, again?", Mikey asked his sibling with no inflection in his voice, not really caring what bands they were touring with. "Uhhh, Simple Plan, The Bled, Underoath, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy." Mikey quickly grasped onto the first band name he recognized, if only vaguely: Fall Out Boy. "Oh, I've heard of them.", he went on, still uninterested. "Our bus is gonna be right next to theirs."

So Mikey was expecting to meet the other band the next day. What he wasn't expecting was the bassist. The gorgeous bassist, with big green eyes framed by heavy eyeliner, a black and red fringe sharply coming down and covering part of his right eye, more tattoos than Mikey had ever seen on one person, and a big smile. "I'm Pete! Nice to meet you.", he said, grinning even wider and holding out his hand for Mikey to shake.

Mikey blushed and shook his hand. "U-uh. I'm Mikey Way.", he said softly. "Mikeyway. Nice name.", Pete smiled, and he blended Mikey's name into one word so naturally that Mikey almost forgot it had ever been two. And Mikey and Pete sat and talked. The other guys introduced themselves to each other and wandered back to their buses, but Mikey and Pete kept talking. They talked the next day of the tour, and the day after that, and the day after that. They talked about poetry and music and the summer sun beating down on them and religion and life and death and childhood, and Mikey had never felt so understood in his life, not even by Gerard.

It was almost July by the time Mikey finally worked up the courage to kiss Pete. He grabbed the other boy's shoulders and pressed their lips together. It was like a firework going off in his mouth, in his heart, in his brain. Pete tasted like sweat and sunshine and cheap beer, and Mikey decided he never wanted to taste anything else again.

They met up even more after that, before and after every show and whenever else they could get away from their bandmates. They kissed and fucked and talked. And Mikey, without knowing it, fell in love for the first time. So did Pete. But Pete realized what was happening, and he freaked out. He couldn't be in love with a boy. What would the fans think? What would his parents think? What would the tabloids think? And he thought and thought, until he came up with a solution. Only be with Mikey until Warped Tour ended. It sounded like a perfect idea at the time.

But he cherished every second he spent with Mikey, and the closer it got to the end of the summer, the more Pete realized how hard it would be to say goodbye. He loved Mikey with all his heart. July turned into August, and August came to an end, and then it was time to say goodbye.

Mikey smiled and kissed Pete. "So, call me, okay? We can schedule our next date when we're both home." Pete felt tears well up in his eyes and stream down his face, smudging his eyeliner. "Pete?" Mikey looked like he genuinely cared, and he did, and Pete knew it, and that made everything even harder. "I'm sorry, Mikeyway. We have to break up. No one can know I like boys." Mikey's eyes went huge, and then came the tears. Waterfalls of tears. "N-no! Pl-please, don't leave, I l-love you! I-I'll do anything!" Pete kissed him for the last time. "I love you too." And he was gone. He would regret this decision later, when he was older and more grown up and had missed his chance. But that didn't matter right now. Mikey was absolutely ruined. He finally knew what it was to be in love.

~~~

It had been fifteen years since Mikey and Pete had said goodbye. Mikey was married with a daughter and a son, and Pete was divorced and had a girlfriend, two sons, and a daughter. And yet both boys, now grown men, still loved each other deeply. They avoided each other like the plague, scared of what unresolved feelings might spill out if they talked or even saw each other again. And then, completely by chance, they met outside a coffee shop in Chicago.

Pete had changed a lot. Those beautiful green eyes, big and round and surrounded by thickly painted eyeliner, that Mikey had loved so much were now dull and seemed smaller, all the makeup gone, and the beginnings of wrinkles forming underneath them. His black and red fringe was gone, too, replaced by long, ragged brown hair, greying at the roots, and he even had a beard. He wasn't smiling, either. When Mikey had known him, Pete had always smiled, big and bright and pretty. But this Pete looked sad and tired and grown up. Mikey wasn't sure what to say. "Um, hi.", he decided on, looking down at the sidewalk.

Pete stared at the man standing in front of him. He was tall and muscular, with very short blonde hair, sunglasses, and a grey tank top. At first glance, he looked like an obnoxious jock having a midlife crisis in his thirties, but then Pete looked again, and realized it was Mikey. "Mikeyway? Hi." Mikey gave a soft smile before looking away again.

"How's life?" "Good.", Mikey lied, and he told Pete about his wife and his kids and how his band's recent reunion had affected his life. He didn't tell him how he dreamed about him every night, how he had bought Infinity On High when it came out but had been unable to get past the song "Bang The Doldrums", and the CD sat, untouched and cried on, at the bottom of his pile still today.

"Awesome.", Pete smiled, but not like Mikey remembered him smiling, with his face lighting up as he grinned widely, his green eyes eyes sparkling. No, this smile was small and tight and sad. And Pete told Mikey about his kids and his new house and how Patrick was doing, and he didn't tell him that he had wanted to name Bronx after Mikey, but Ashlee didn't let him. He didn't tell him that he had written album after album for him, not even bothering to hide it in the lyrics. He didn't tell him that the reason he had gotten rid of his fringe and his eyeliner was because they made him think of Mikey.

And they said their pleasant, formal goodbyes and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> oh god this sucks and it's too long
> 
> whatever


End file.
